What makes Audley such a great place to work?

Are you thinking of applying to join our team? Here are our top seven reasons why we love working at Audley...

1. The opportunity to travel

Working for Audley Travel means you don't just talk about travel at work; you experience it. One of the key components of a Travel Specialist role is the familiarisation trip (often referred to as a 'fam'). Upon joining the company, before they even begin selling, specialists are sent to their specific country of expertise for four to six weeks.

During this trip, specialists visit hotels, lodges and guesthouses in the region and partake in some of the activities we arrange for clients, from sushi making in Japan to safaris in South Africa. Every year to 18 months, specialists will return to their region of focus to refresh and expand their knowledge, trying new experiences or further researching a specific theme in a country. You don't have to be in a sales role to enjoy these world travels — every member of the staff is awarded with an international trip at some stage in their career, ensuring that everyone can truly experience and understand what it means to travel the Audley Way.

Mount Fitz Roy, El Chaltén, Argentina

2. Rewards and recognition

At Audley Travel, hard work rarely goes unacknowledged. Every month, one member of the company who has gone above and beyond is rewarded with a hotel stay, massage, a local excursion, or paid time off. However, the recognition of hard work at Audley goes far beyond this monthly award.

Twice a year, everyone at Audley is eligible to be named among the 'top performers' of the company. These are the top sellers, the hardest working members of sales and service, and the best managers.

Those who make the list are awarded to anything from a weekend away in Florida, a Ferrari museum visit in Bologna, or a luxury train journey to Paris. These extravagant 'thank you' trips are a constant reminder of Audley Travel going above and beyond to make sure employees feel appreciated.

Employees start with 25 paid days leave and gain more over time with the company. There's even a dedicated staff travel agent, whose job it is to negotiate with hotels, airlines and suppliers to get you the best industry discounts available for personal trips.

Bologna Top Performers weekend

3. The Audley Partnership Scheme

The Partnership Scheme was introduced to acknowledge and recognise everyone who works for Audley across our three offices as they contribute to the growing success of the company. Audley partners will receive a share in the company, which could see them receive up to their full earnings from the past 12 months at the time when our next investor comes on board. although eligibility to become a partner starts with three years' service.

If you join Audley now it’s still very likely you’d see a benefit when the time comes for us to seek a new investor. Even if you’ve only been with us a little over three years at that time, you could still enjoy a return of 25% of your earnings from the past 12 months.

Audley Ducks cricket team

4. Fun working environments in enviable locations

We're fortunate to have three offices in some great locations. Our Witney office is located in an old blanket mill next to the river Windrush in Oxfordshire. It's surrounded by water meadows and has a free gym, jelly bean machines, fruit, subsidized massages, a tuck shop and an allotment with a greenhouse.

Our London office in Shepherd's Bush is next to the Westfield Shopping Centre, which also has some great bars and restaurants. There's a subsidized gym membership, table tennis, an in-house bar and subsidized tickets to events in London are available. All our offices have restaurant clubs and withhold the Audley tradition of Breakfast Fridays in most teams.

Allotment at New Mill

5. Career development

With offices in Oxfordshire, London and Boston, USA — Audley is a global company which offers an abundance of opportunities for your professional and personal development. With a growing company comes fantastic new openings and job roles.

A new induction process ensures all employees are up to speed with how Audley operate in every area of the company, from Digital and Marketing to Sales, the induction process is the same for all staff members to give a thorough background into how we all work together. A dedicated in-house training team ensure all needs are met to support people's development and progression in their careers and external training is welcomed and encouraged for more specific requirements to an individual's job role.

Alice, Hida Folk Village, Japan

6. Fantastic social events

Audley prides itself on being a fun, social place to work, so employee calendars are packed with optional events and activities of all kinds. There are personal perks like in-house massages and sports clubs, from frisbee to tennis and everything in between. Then there are group socials like the annual summer yacht party in Boston and Witney's infamous summer party, which has featured boy band Blue and DJ Judge Jules.

In addition, the rest of the year seems to get filled in with everything from ice skating and wine tasting, to quiz nights and book clubs — there's truly something for everyone. Such perks are just one of the reasons Audley was ranked not only in the top ten companies to work for in Boston by BostInno, but also in the top 100 in the US by Outside Magazine and the Sunday Times Best Companies list several years in a row in the UK.

2018 Christmas party in London

7. Flexible hours

In April of 2017, Audley reduced their weekly working hours from 39.5 hours to 37 hours per week. Monday to Thursday, employees can work either 9:00am to 5:30pm or 9:30am to 6:00pm and on Fridays, from 9:00am to 5:00pm or 9:30am to 5:30pm. On all days, employees are allowed one hour for lunch. This reduction in hours worked did not have any effect over employee salaries, the change was simply an effort to help employees best balance their home and work life while still upholding a ten hour day of being 'open' for clients to contact Audley for any reason.

A flexible working policy was also introduced which includes homeworking and remote working, as well as variable hours, job-share and part time working. Homeworking is based on working from home five days a week and remote working is based on working from home up to two days a week, with the remainder of the time in the office.